It Just So Happened...

When there are just toooooo many coincidences, you know it has to be a "God Thing!"

We had been having trouble with the motor home off and on since leaving Cheyenne.  It would lose power when we would attempt to climb a hill...any hill...even just a little upgrade.  In the beginning it was pretty inconsistent so Dave kept trying to do troubleshooting.  He figured/hoped it was either the air filter or the fuel filter.  When we got to Dousman, WI the problem was consistent and worsening on every hill.  We were having to drive on the shoulder in order not to impede traffic too much.  This was a scary proposition on I-90!

At Blue Gate Farm, where Teri was giving lessons for a few days, Dave pulled the air filter and by tapping it dislodged several pounds of ultra fine dust.  He reinstalled the device and looked forward to improve performance when we left Dousman for Madison.  Unfortunately no such improvement happened.  In fact at one point the engine completely died as we lumbered up a little incline on an overpass in Madison.

After spending a few hours in Madison visiting Teri's son, the decision was made to limp on up to Lake Prior, MN where we had already made arrangements to stay with the horses.  About 50 miles out of Madison, it became clear that we were not going to make it.  Teri looked for diesel repair places but none came up nearby on an Internet search.  Dave decided to take the next exit, no matter what, just to get off the interstate.  As we coasted off the ramp we saw a sign for Bill's Towing and Repair...and in smaller letters "Semi repair." 

We dragged into a gas station just off the ramp and asked about the repair shop.  The counter girl did not know too much about it, but thought it was up the street.  We drove slowly down the indicated road and found Bill's.

Since it was Sunday afternoon, we did not expect to see anyone, but one of the employees was there assisting another customer with an after hours pick up.  When Dave explain our predicament, the employee called the owner, Bill.  Bill said he doesn't usually allow people to spend the night...but for us he would.  We initially set up "camp" on sort of a side road that was a dead end with no traffic.  We put the girls in a very narrow configuration with the electric paddock.  It was right next to the interstate and very noisy but safe.  Bill came by to check on us a while later and, because he was a horse lover, invited us to move over into his business lot.  It was much quieter and the girls got to have a large area with more grass.

In the morning, the staff invited us to be first in line.  They quickly assess the problem as a clogged fuel filter (Dave was right).  They showed Dave where it was (it was hiding) and changed it forthwith.  They also changed a flat on the horse trailer, which if we had not stopped there could have created a lot more trouble down the road.

It was such a God thing because we "just so happened" to exit right where the largest diesel repair shop in the region was located.
There "just so happened" to be an employee there even though it was after hours.
The owner "just so happened" to like horses and made an exception for us to stay there.
The business "just so happened" to be out in the country far enough that having the horses was not an issue.
The property "just so happened" to have a grassy patch suitable to pasture the horses all night!
The business "just so happened" to have time available to work on our problem first thing!
The business "just so happened" to have the parts that we needed.
We "just so happened" to notice the tire getting low before it became a problem on the interstate.

Thank God for his intervention and working things out before we headed for to the Montana wilderness!